Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-11

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many countries around the world, rural people are moving to cities, so the population in the countryside is decreasing.

Do you think this is a positive or a negative development?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Now a days, we see that in many countries many of the people are traveling from their hometown in rural area towards the cities and we see that the graph of the population is increasing in cities and decreasing in the rural areas.

This could cause a very huge impact on the countries management and the maintenance they are doing to move the cycle of their countries and have a very good and positive result. In our mind when we think about anything we think about the positive and negative impact of that situation that might cause.

So, if we think about the positive and negative about the rural peoples traveling towards the cities and according to my point of view it might could cause both.

First of all, we discuss about the positive impact. In positive development that there is less accommodation of education in rural areas and when more people traveled towards cities the more they would be educated and it could increases the percentage of progress in the nation and other than this there is also many facilities such that offers of different jobs and due to which it could also decrease the percentage of jobless people and every person would be beneficiary for the state.

After this there could be also some drawbacks such as if more people moved on it could cause some serious issues for the state to maintain population and no one could able to get all facilities and also education would also be not provided to all and at the end the main negative development is that it could cause dangerous pollution in cities and might become inappropriate for people to live.

At the end the conclusion is that a moderate percent could be helpful but if every one started to travel than it could become very dangerous not only for the state but also for the people who are living in the state.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both positive and negative aspects of rural-to-urban migration. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For example, the mention of 'education' and 'jobless people' is relevant but lacks specific examples or deeper analysis to fully support the arguments. The position is clear, but the essay relies on generalisations rather than well-supported points. To improve, you should provide concrete examples or more detailed explanations for each point raised, ensuring that the arguments are fully extended rather than just stated.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the flow between ideas is often mechanical. Phrases like 'First of all' and 'After this' are used, but the logical progression within paragraphs is sometimes hindered by repetitive phrasing and awkward transitions. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the connection between 'management' and 'cycle of their countries' is vague. Using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensuring that each sentence clearly links to the previous one would improve the overall structure and readability of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. You rely on basic terms like 'huge impact', 'good', and 'dangerous', which limits the sophistication of your writing. There are also some instances of awkward word choice, such as 'less accommodation of education' and 'every person would be beneficiary for the state'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise collocations and academic vocabulary. Focusing on synonyms and more specific terminology related to urbanisation would significantly enhance your lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'it might could cause', 'if more people moved on', and 'no one could able to get'. Subject-verb agreement and article usage are also inconsistent. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on sentence construction, specifically modal verbs and conditional structures, will help you produce more accurate and complex sentences.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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